Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara
Ink and color on paper
Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara
CHINA; Qing dynasty
An inscription in the lower left corner states that this picture was painted by imperial order in 1761 by Ding Guanpeng. Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva sits in full lotus position on a lotus throne. A stole embroidered with floral patterns is draped around the arms. Each hand forms a mudra or holds a Dharma instrument including a mirror, lotus, bow, sun disc, moon disc, Dharma wheel, and conch shell. The uppermost pair of hands lifts a golden Buddha image that emits clouds containing ten small Buddhas and falling flowers. The colorful, detailed Bodhisattva stands out vividly from the blank background. Fine details and elegant colors reflect the aesthetic tastes of the Qing dynasty imperial court.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting P-Z, page 905.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youlu and Wilson, Graham and Manho and Mankuang and Huntington, Susan,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Painting P-Z},
pages = 905,
title = {{Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara}},
volume = 16,
year = {2016}}